ASHLAND – Though it may seem like little progress is being made at the former Pump House property where the F.E. Myers factory once stood, cleanup is moving slowly but surely, Mayor Matt Miller told council members and the public at a city council meeting Wednesday.
“Things are going on, even if it’s not as fast as we would all like them to,” Miller said, referring to the Pump House land between Union and Orange Streets that was foreclosed upon in June.
For the past few weeks, volunteers from United Steelworkers Union Pentair Local #45 have been working to clean out the green warehouse building at the corner of Fourth and Union streets, Miller said.
“They’ve been doing that in tandem with some of our city employees from the street department,” Miller said, adding that the city has also provided giant dumpsters for the cleanup.
Miller said the building appears to have been used to store years’ worth of donations to Pump House Ministries, including clothes, books, video cassettes and other items.
Some of the items were in good shape, and everything that could be used was donated to charity, Miller said. Other things had been damaged by water and mold and could not be salvaged.
“The next step is we will send in some of our equipment to basically scrape up what is left because it is moldy and there’s stuff people don’t want to get into that will go to the landfill,” Miller said.
Additionally, Miller announced, the Ohio EPA has hired a contractor to visit the site next week to check for asbestos.
The contractor’s Targeted Brownfields Assessment will be done at no cost to any local government entities, as the city and county applied for and received a grant to have the assessment done, Miller said.
Within a few weeks after the contractor’s visit, Miller hopes to receive a report that will help interested parties identify what needs to be done in order to clean up the property.
The city, the Ashland County Land Bank and private individuals have all expressed interest in helping with the clean up.
“Right now, we’re trying to figure out what roles everyone should play,” Miller said.
Though the city does not own the former Pump House property, Miller acknowledged the city has made an investment in its cleanup. he also noted the city has recently taken ownership of two other downtown properties– 16 E. Main St. and the former Olna Jane’s bar.
“I look at some of these situations, and I think, ‘Wow, it looks like the city’s getting into the real estate business,'” Miller said. “Well, if that’s what it takes to clean up the old abandoned buildings downtown and improve this city, then I guess we’ll have to get into the real estate business in the short-term.”
Miller referred to the city’s recent actions as “playing catch up,” dealing with buildings that have been allowed to deteriorate for generations. He said the city is trying to be sensible in only taking on projects in areas where it has resources and plans to deal with them.
“I’m not necessarily someone that wants to see government get involved in every aspect of what goes on in this community, but these are situations where they are not going to fix themselves,” Miller said. “It’s through public-private partnerships that we are really going to clean up this city.”
Miller invited members of the community to attend a State of the City address 7 p.m. Jan. 24 in Ashland High School’s Archer Auditorium. The event is free and open to the pubic and will include an introduction of elected officials, a recap 2018 and look to the future, Miller said.
